Comatose
by But I Have Promises To Keep
Summary: When Mal wakes up from a three year coma, what happens when in that time Natara was forced to leave, and everyone around him has changed? And what happens when Natara comes back for him, but Mal's unsure of her true motive? Updated daily!
1. Chapter 1

**So, I know I have other Fanfic's to work on, but I started reading _The Adoration Of Jenna Fox_ and was** **inspired by it. (Great book, but would _NOT_ recommend it for young teens because of some less pleasant language). Even though the only similarity was that Jenna was in a coma, and the rest has nothing to do with the rest of this fanfic. Oh well, I get idea's from the weirdest things. I put in A LOT of research on comas, so I hope most of it is accurate except the fact that people usually don't remain in coma's for long periods of time. Other than that I hope to remain accurate, like with the slow recovery rate and not just 'wake up from coma, perfectly fine the next day' and how comatose people can sometimes hear you talk to them.**

He could hear them. All of them for a while. The high voice that was Amy's, sounding more worried every day. Ken's deeper tones. Kai's annoying attempts at jokes. Natara's voice, this one reoccurring more often than the others. They talked about him like he wasn't even there, why? He knew he was there, he could hear them. Didn't that prove he was there? Of course for all he knew he was a mere floating pair of ears. He lived in darkness, unaware of his own body. Funnily enough, he couldn't remember how he got there. His last memory was of the night before whatever had happened to him must have occurred. Slowly voices faded away. First Amy, Ken and Kai. Natara's voice stayed though. He especially liked hearing her voice. She talked to him like he could hear her, telling him about her day, things the others had done. Then her voice stopped suddenly. There one day, gone the next. He hoped nothing had happened to her voice, it was his only friend in the darkness. After her voice left things became burry, time irrelevant and days fading into each other. He heard voices, unfamiliar ones, talk once again like he wasn't there. He couldn't communicate with these voices, but thought of them quickly as his friends. He knew almost everything about them, memorizing what they said so maybe one day he could respond to them and they wouldn't be strangers. He knew someone named 'Thomas' had a deep gravely voice and a twelve year old daughter. He knew a woman with a high girlish voice was referred to as 'Carol' and she was a nurse. He knew a low and calming voice was called '' and he seemed to carry authority with him. These voices were all he had, until one day he opened his eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

It was gradual at first. He could see for maybe a minute. He looked around like a newborn baby, as if just getting his first glimpses of the world. Several people spotted this, and they got exited. They bustled around, trying to do things such a check his pupils. Mal hated it, an tried to swat them away. His arm seemed to have become disobedient in his minds absence, and only weakly lifted. That was when he fell back into darkness again, but it was okay. The voices were back. Amy's, Ken's and Kai's. Not Natara's, and this worried Mal. What had happened to her? Why had her voice suddenly stopped? The next time he opened his eyes they were all there, except her. The others said words to him he didn't understand, as if now that his eyes were working the world was set in mute. He didn't understand why it was such a big deal, he had woken up. He knew he had some kind of accident from what he heard, but was he really hurt that bad? He asked how long it had been, surprised his speech was slurred and slow. He willed himself to speak normally, but couldn't. No one seemed to wanted to answer him, staring at each other as if waiting for someone else to answer.  
>Amy was the one who spoke first "Mal, I'm sorry. I-".<br>"How long?" he said, attempting to sound forceful but his slurred speech made him sound stupid.  
>"Three years" she finally said. There was a long pause in which her words finally hit.<br>"What happened?" he finally asked after her words sunk in.  
>"You-you were in an accident".<br>For some reason this sent his mind into wild places, crazy situations immediately coming to mind.  
>"A car accident" Ken added. Mal wanted to slap himself for being so stupid. What other kind of accident would it be?<br>Suddenly his mind jumped that Natara had been killed in the same accident, and he had to remind himself that she had to be alive. Her voice had once called out to him, however long ago that was.  
>"Where's Natara?" he asked.<br>"She went back to the FBI" Kai answered. He was shocked at the professional manner he seemed to have taken. The person who he had once teased and gotten angry at was a complete stranger. As if he were a child who had grown up and left Mal behind.  
>"How long ago?" he asked.<br>"About two years ago". Mal felt betrayed. How could she just leave him behind, broken and alone? Had she been forced to go, or had she simply given up on him? Either way she was gone, and so were the people he knew three years ago.


	3. Chapter 3

Three days, or what Mal thought was three days, passed. He was finally allowed to leave, on the condition someone checked on him at least once a day. He hated the idea of being watched like a small child, but hated the idea of staying another day in the place he had apparently spent the last three years in more. Ken said he was going to pick him up, as he was told very firmly it would be a while until he would be allowed to drive again. Now he sat and waited for him, growing restless as many people stared at him. He could only imagine why. Before Ken came though, he was surprised when he was called to the front desk. Someone had called him.  
>"Hello?".<br>"Mal?". Sudden rage crept into his veins. The voice was slightly different, but the same one he knew from long ago, one he associated now with abandonment. "Natara?" he said, trying to keep his voice back to how it had before. It was still slightly slurred, but at least he no longer sounded like he was drunk. He hated how he was completely unable to control how slow his voice now, but was told it should return to normal in time. As for now he avoided speaking. Easy enough to do when everyone you knew had left you, abandoned you.  
>"I can't believe you're back" she said.<br>"I never left" said Mal coldly. He knew she had stayed by his side the longest, but it was easier to pin rage on someone who wasn't trying to help you.  
>The cold tone he instilled must not have been detectable through the slur, for then she said "I never thought I'd hear your voice again. I'm taking my vacation days now, I'm coming back to see you. It's been so long, I want to help you catch up". Mal wanted to say he thought she was dead all this time. That he could hear her, and she had left him alone. That he didn't want her to come, that she wasn't there when he needed her her. All he said thought was "okay". They said their goodbye's, Natara promising they would talk more when she came. He was surprised when he looked up, his own face reflected in te nearby window. Time had made a small dent in his face, gradually making him look almost unnoticeably older. Mal knew he wouldn't have noticed it if he had been awake to see the gradual change. His hair stood up funny, unlike it had before. He reached back and touched the spot, finding it was rough and slightly puckered. Obviously there had been stitches there once, leaving behind a rather large scar. The next thing he saw in the window was, strangely enough, Amy. She smiled warmly at him, like a mother would at her child. This annoyed Mal, but now was not the time to reveal he knew that they had given up on him. She came walking in, and Mal felt stupid for not asking himself why she was here. Then he saw it as she approached him. A bright gold band, reflecting like a ring of fire around her finger. She must have seen his gaze, and Mal didn't even need to ask before she said "A year ago". He was glad she was helping him catch up, but rather annoyed that he even needed to catch up. He should have been there, but he wasn't. "Sorry I wasn't there" said Mal guiltily.<br>"Don't be, you would have been there if you could". This didn't make him feel better. It made the bitterness at what happened even worse. What else had he missed? He missed all of what had happened to Amy and Ken, Natara had left, and what had changed Kai so was a mystery. He wanted it all back, all the years that had been stolen away. He wanted back all the things he missed, simply because he slept through it all.


	4. Chapter 4

**To: mozzigirl. I love skillet too! Skillet, Evanescence and Breaking Benjamin are my favorite bands! The title came from that song, I was hoping someone would point that out! Sorry, I got this chapter mixed up with my other story earlier.  
><strong>

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><p>Ken drove him home, handing him the key to his apartment. Mal was surprised it was still his, and Ken said the owners of the building let him keep his belongings in there unless someone else came along, as he wasn't using any water or electricity. He was surprised to find it was in a well-kept condition when he entered, it was just as if he had just left it. Not a single layer of dust had touched anything. "One of us came in every once in a while and kept after the place" she explained.<br>Mal was grateful for this, for this meant in one way they still thought-or maybe hoped he would recover. He scanned the room. How could it have really been three years since he had been here? If the years gone by had not taken their toll on those around him, he would think it was an elaborate joke. Amy and Ken silently left, leaving Mal to his own devices. He looked around the room, trying to find anything that would spark the memory of the day of the accident. He found himself unable to, but was surprised when his phone rang. It startled him, a sharp noise so real and distinct. He hadn't realized how dull sounds had been before, how many of them didn't connect to things he knew. He picked it up, finding it was a text from Ken that he had forgotten to tell him that he was not to come to work for a while. Mal wished he could say he hadn't read it, because he was very ready to go back and instill some normality back into his life. He looked and saw he had another text, and wondered how his phone could still be active. Someone must have deactivated it while he was gone, then put it right when he came back. Obviously he had the same number, or Ken wouldn't have been able to text him. He checked the inbox and gulped. It was from Natara, and said she would be there by tomorrow.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry, very short! I have other parts I _REALLY_ want to write, and I want to post again today.**

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><p>Mal wasn't planning on welcoming Natara with open arms, and in fact wished she wouldn't come. He knew it most likely wasn't her fault, she probably wouldn't have left him by choice. Still, he couldn't be sure. Who knows how time had changed her, who she was now. He couldn't imagine her as a stranger, and hated himself for hoping she would be the same. Maybe he just wanted anything to be the same. The next morning he heard a faint knock on the door, and part if him wanted to ignore it. He was thinking maybe he could pass it off that he was at work, then remembered he hadn't been at work in three years. Slowly, as expecting something dangerous on the other side, he opened the door. He didn't even see her before she had thrown her arms around him, obscuring his vision with a curtain of hair. He didn't hug back, but his went unnoticed by Natara. As she pulled away he was surprised to find time had barely touched her face, but obviously something else had. A long scar, faded with age, spread from below her ear to just below her chin. Something about it told him she had gotten it in the same accident that had nearly killed him. That she was with him. And that meant, for now, he would have to play nice if he wanted to know exactly what happened.<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

Natara it seemed didn't really want to 'catch up' with him. She acted strange, as if nothing had ever happened. This made it hard to hold a grudge, as it was hard to remember that something had happened when he was with her. It was also nice to feel like the world hadn't left him behind. It was as if he had just seen her the other day. Eventually, Mal got the nerve to ask her what had happedned the day of the accident. She looked at him, as if hurt and said "Mal, what exactly do you remember?".  
>"Nothing from that day. The last thing I remember is what I think was the night before, March 12th?" he asked.<br>She nodded, but had a pained look on her face "You don't remember that day at all".  
>Mal frowned "Something big happened, didn't it?".<br>Her voice shook and Mal knew Natara was lying when she said "No, nothing important". Seeing his face was still questioning, she lied again quickly and added "I don't remember much either". The conversation strayed away from that sensitive subject. Later, Mal couldn't help but let his anger melt away, and soon suggested they go to _Rip Van Winkles_ for 'old times sake'. Natara looked worried when he said this. Finally, she said gently "That place is gone".  
>"What do you mean 'gone'?".<br>She sighed "A few months after the accident, there was a small fire. No one was hurt and the building is still there, but it was shut down because of structural damage". She paused, looking at the pure disbelief that flashed across Mal's face. Mal knew they would have to go there anyways, because in a way her had to pay his respects to the memories that rest there.

**I hope the name of the restaurant is right or I'll feel like an idiot... **


	7. Chapter 7

Mal stood on the shore, the old time-worn building behind him. Natara was silently doing something beside him, but Mal couldn't tell what. He gave a quick glance at her, and saw she was fiddling with something on her hand. _A wedding band_. Mal knew this worried, unconscious gesture, and said in almost a question "You're married now?". She seemed startled, as if she had forgotten he was there. "I was" she said softly.  
>Mal knew history was repeating itself by saying this, but said anyways "Nat, you can tell me".<br>For a moment she looked out to the ocean, her eyes glazed over. "No one's called my 'Nat' in a long time". She paused for a moment, as if choosing her words carefully. "It was about six months after the accident. I was still putting my life back together, and Oscar was there. A year later I was forced to go back to D.C. Oscar kept in touch, and we got married soon after". She paused again, sighing as if a weight had finally been lifted off her chest, finally allowing her to breathe. "I don't know what happened, we only made it another year after that. We just drifted apart, with both of us working long hours. It's been a year, but I can't seem to-". She stopped there, but Mal knew she wanted to let go. She had her ring in her hand, and Mal gently stood behind her and took her wrist. "Just let go" he whispered to her "it's the only way to move on". Still holding her wrist, he guided her arm to throw the ring into the ocean before them. He did not open her hand for her, she was the one who needed to let go. He was only helping her. For a moment he thought she wouldn't let go and he would look like an idiot, but then something small and silver flew from her hand. It arched, suspended in the air for a moment. Then it landed with a small splash in the water, never to be seen again.


	8. Chapter 8

_March 13th, Three years ago_

Mal shoved the murder suspect into the back of the car. The man seemed surprisingly overconfident, and stated his reasons were that he had a good lawyer. Still, the smile on the man's face was creeping Mal out. Natara slid into the passenger side just as Mal got out his keys. They had only driven a few minutes when the man in the back seat began making sounds like he was going to be sick.  
>"Sorry, I get a little car sick" the man said.<br>Mal pulled over. "Okay, let's get him out before he pukes all over the car". He looked at Natara.  
>"You want me to do it, don't you?".<br>Mal nodded "Well if you're volunteering…".  
>"What a gentleman" she joked as she got out, opening the door for the man to get out. He did, and Natara led him over to the side of the road. In an instant, a huge tractor trailer came around the corner and plowed over their car. It barely stopped before driving off again, leaving a wreckage of smashed metal in it's wake. This was no accident, and Natara knew this as she shoved her suspect to the ground, telling him not to move. As she ran to what was once their car, trying to find something alive in the wreckage. "Mal!" she called, searching for her partner. She spotted him among the wreckage, barely breathing an looking thoroughly broken. Natara tried to pry apart a few pieces of metal that caged him. She saw his fear-filled eyes focus on something behind her. She followed his gaze, seeing a steady drip of gasoline. Suddenly panicking, she tried harder to free her partner. Mal took one shaking hand and weakly tried to push her away, trying to get her away from what could soon be a full-out fire. She resisted, and he pushed slightly harder against her face. Her head turned, her cheek catching on a sharp piece of metal that jutted out near her head. It caught, scratching deeply from her ear to her chin. She turned back to him, and saw Mal barely whisper "Go…". She ignored him and kept working trying to free him. With what must have been the last of his strength, Mal shoved roughly against Natara's shoulder, pushing her over where she kneeled. Frustrated, she finally said "Don't move, I'm going to get help". She pulled out her phone, getting no bars. She carefully backed up, regretting every inch she moved away from Mal. Finally, a good three yards from their car, she got one bar. Before she even dialed the three numbers, a small fire ignited. It spread from a small spark, it's origin unknown. It spread, Mal's screams perching through the night. She wanted so bad to help him, but there was nothing she could do. She thought the screaming would be the worst, but soon found she was wrong. The worst was the deadly silence that followed. Natara looked up, her suspect was gone.<p>

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><p>"That felt good" said Natara as she watched her wedding band fall into the oceans depths. Mal smiled "It always does". Natara looked back at him, smiling. They bid each other goodbye, Mal returning home. As he passed his computer, a sudden idea struck him. He looked up anything about his accident, shocked at what he found. Natara was lying. She wasn't even in the accident. That meant she was hiding something, and whatever it was, it must have been big.<p> 


	9. Chapter 9

**So, as a request from _'Barely a Brunette'_ and _mozzi-girl_, I update for the second time today. I typed this in ten minutes, so we'll see how it goes…**

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><p><em>June 23rd, three years ago.<em>

The others had long since stopped coming to see Mal. 'What was the point talking to a dead person?' they had said. Natara knew he wasn't dead. _'What part of someone do you love?_' she thought that day when she simply looked at him. Was it the person, the body that was always warm and alive? Or was their something more, something you couldn't see that was nevertheless inside of someone? A soul of some sort. '_Is that part still there?'._ She knew if it was, it must be awfully horrible to be trapped in a motionless body, unable to escape. So she talked to him, as if he were still there. Kai came later that same day, seeing what she was doing and joining her. She didn't find out until later why he was at the hospital in the first place. After that Kai had changed, he became more reserved. Natara knew Amy didn't like it, it reminded her to much of Eric. She got used to it, which was good as Kai was never the same again, never visiting Mal again either. Just how Natara, talking to what was possibly a soulless body, would never be the same again.

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><p>The next morning Mal confronted Natara, calling her to meet him by the station in a few minutes. She did, and Mal immediately went over to where she stood with her back turned to him. "Did you know?" he said. She nearly jumped out of her skin and turned around. Before she could ask 'know what?' he said "I could hear you. I knew you were there. When you left, I thought you were dead". Her eyes began to get wider, as if she knew what was coming. "You weren't forced to go back to D.C.. <em>It was by choice<em>. You're departure was in the news, saying the heroes who caught the Maskmaker where both gone now". He said almost accusingly.  
>She took a step back "Mal, you don't und-".<br>"Don't tell me what I understand!" he spat "You left. It was you're choice, and even worse you lied about it! I waited for your voice to come back, and it never did! You left me!". He knew she couldn't have possibly have known he could hear her, but rage had become a poison in his veins. "_I trusted you!_".  
>He saw her eyes were full of tears, but at this point was angry enough that he was beyond caring. He hated himself for being so harsh, but reminded himself he wasn't at fault for any of this.<br>"Yes Mal, I did have a choice! I wanted to stay, I really did! But everyone else said it was time to move on, that you weren't coming back". She stopped, taking a deep breath and regaining her composure "I wanted to stay, but I thought you were gone".  
>Keeping his voice steady and cold, he stated "Then I guess you thought wrong". That was it, she finally snapped. "You know what Mal, maybe I was wrong! But after seeing how you've changed, maybe leaving was the right choice!".<br>_Ouch_, that stung. The hurt must have shown on Mal's face, because Natara reached forward and touched his shoulder "Mal…I didn't mean that…". Turning his back in her, Mal walked away. Leaving Natara in his dust.

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><p><strong>Yes, tension! Needless to say: To be continued...Also, if you could help me out and go to my profile, scroll down to my 'Future CoD idea's' and either comment or message me which you think I should do next? This is far from over, but I want to start making plot lines and such a while. I think I'll do <em>'Dear Anonymous<em>' first, but I just want another opinion.**

** -Thanks!**


	10. Chapter 10

Mal kept walking, not even looking back. Was he really the one who changed? He was certain her was not, that he had almost been preserved in a time capsule. Look at Kai, Amy and Ken. Amy and Ken were married, Kai certainly…different. "Mal!" Natara yelled, chasing after him. Despite how little he wanted to, he stopped. She came up behind him, and seeing her made rage bubble under his skin again. "If you gave up, why did you come back? Why even bother if I'm that bad?" he spat.  
>She looked down at her feet, as if deciding if she was going to lie again. "Mal, I didn't mean that" she paused for a moment "You want the truth?".<br>"What else would I want?".  
>She took a deep breath. "I don't know anymore. I think what I really wanted was to go back, to pretend that the last three years didn't happen". She paused for a moment, as if choosing her next words carefully "but it was wrong. It's wasn't fair to either of us, and if anyone has a right to want to go back it's you". She stopped, and Mal suddenly felt horrible for what he had said. "I'm sorry".<br>"Don't be" she said looking back up. "It wasn't your fault, I shouldn't have even come. I wasn't any help". She turned to go away, but Mal grabbed we arm to stop her.  
>"There is something you can do, and all I need are some answers".<p>

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><p><em>April 3rd, Two years ago<em>

Natara regretted saying her last goodbye to Mal, not matter how unresponsive Mal was. "I might be going away for a while" she said. Unsurprisingly, there was no response. "Or forever". Nothing. At this point if she could have anything in the world, it would be for Mal to say goodbye, say that he would miss her. Say anything. But that did not happen. What did happen was Oscar came in, startling her. "You loved him, didn't you?" he said. Natara didn't respond right away, but after a moment she nodded. "And you still do". It wasn't a question, so Natara didn't answer. Oscar knew it was true, knew there would always be something getting in the way between them.


	11. Chapter 11

Straightforward question, straightforward answers. That's what Mal wanted. Natara was helping him, the two sitting in a nearby park on a bench. A child on roller blades passed by, and Mal asked his first question. "I know along the lines of what happened during the 'accident', that it was no 'accident', but what exactly happened?". Natara answered him truthfully, telling how she had taken the man out if the car. How the tractor trailer plowed onto their car, how she tried so hard to free him. How he tried to get her to save herself, about the fire and the horrible silence that followed. Mal listened nodding occasionally so she knew he was listening. When she was done he let her stop for a moment, obviously reliving that day had taken it's toll. She must have done it before. After a moment Mal asked what had been bugging him for a long time, even though it was skipping ahead in time. "What happened to Kai?" asked Mal "No one changes that much in three years, not even him".  
>Natara sighed "He would kill me if I told you, he doesn't like people to know. He doesn't like to talk about it". Mal gave we a look that said 'get on with it' and she finally said "It was the June after the 'accident'. Everything was just getting back to normal. People were moving on, and things had just settled down. The station wasn't the same, Amy laughed less. Kai didn't have anyone to fight with. Ken smiles seemed to lessen. I was told I was different too, that I talked less and never smiled. Kai was paired up with Ken for an investigation to find a little four year old boy. Ken wasn't happy, but Kai was exited to be put on a case. He acted like he did when he was paired with you. They looked for him everywhere, finally found the kid pretty beaten up in an alleyway after his kidnapper left him there. Kai was the one who found him, and they took him to the hospital. The boy died, and Kai was never the same. Everyone was so surprised, he saw these kind of things every day. Everyone thought it was because it became personal to him, but I think I know what it really was." she looked at him seriously "He never caught whoever did it, which was exactly what I felt until I found who hurt you".<p>

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><p><em>April 25th, Three years ago<em>

Natara hadn't slept in two days, but was no longer tired. Rage had become her caffeine, directed at the two men in the interrogation room. One was smiling, the other looking worn. She knew this was the one who nearly killed her partner. She could see them throughout the glass, stewing in the fact that she had caught them. She wanted nothing more to pound against the glass, to make them pay. To serve justice for what they did to Mal. The fact that she wanted to go in and beat them senseless must have shown on her face, because Ken came up behind her, frowning. He put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed, but not in a reassuring way. It was more in a way that a owner might to their dog that was about to bolt. "You know Captain Yeong said you're not allowed in there".  
>She whipped around "I don't see why! They nearly killed Mal! I just want-" she stopped for a moment, not sure what she wanted. "I want to make them pay!".<br>Ken frowned "And what would that do? It won't bring Mal back". The sudden reality of Ken's words hit, making her eyes water. A deep saddening pain erupted in her very core, as if her heart itself physically hurt.  
>"What would have Mal wanted?" Ken asked her. He was not implying anything, but was truly asking a question.<br>Natara didn't know, but said rather bitterly "I don't know, and because of them we never will".

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><p><strong>I will be posting again today, probably in a few hours or so. I just need to finish up my next chapters but figured I might as <strong>**post a while. So check back later, and I'll either have one or two new chapters up (I know exactly whats going to happen, I don't have writers block, I'm just a slow typer. I think faster than I can type :P)** **They'll probably have more flashbacks, because I like flashbacks and they make for a good way to less-awkwardly write the beginnings of chapters, which I struggle with.**


	12. Chapter 12

_May 12th three years ago_

Natara's eyes seemed to boil with hatred as she sat next to Oscar in the courtroom. All was silent, the trial had only just started. The judge was currently looking at some case files in front of him. Natara glanced over to the Defense side. The two men's lawyer was sitting in between her clients. Natara's eyes met one of the men's eyes, but he quickly looked away. 'He's not even sorry' she thought 'he doesn't even care her ruined someone life, how many people he's hurt'. The judge put the papers he was looking out down, and said to the Defense side "Ryder and Rick Mason, you have been charged with murdering Dakota Daniels and an attempted 1st degree murder of an officer. How do you plea?".  
>"Not guilty".<br>This made Natara's blood boil. She tensed up, her hands balling into fists. She was in the edge of her seat, as if ready to pounce and attack at any time. Oscar seemed to see her tense up, and brushed his hand quickly against her's in a failed attempt to calm her. He stood up, beginning his opening statement. Natara didn't hear any of this. All she heard was the beep up Mal's heart monitor she'd heard earlier. The steady hum of the machine breathing for him. She looked over to the Defense side, the imaginary beeping in her mind continuing. It was maddening, and if it didn't stop she was going to snap…  
>"—unfortunately Detective Malachi Fallon was unable to witness today, and is currently in a trauma-induced coma. He suffers severe brain damage to his cerebral cortex and reticular activating system. He also suffers from several lacerations and fourth degree burns on several parts of his body. As a result is is believed he will not recover. The state has decided, as a result of several large cases he assisted in solving, he will not be taken off life support for the time being, and is being given deep brain stimulation treatments and skin grafts. This was a request by the many families of victims Detective Fallon had helped". Natara felt the tight fist she was making ease up, and her hand stung with how tight it had been. After Mal was put on life-support, so many people they helped came forward. They wanted justice for the person who gave justice to them. There was confusion, arguing and many fights, but the families had won. Mal Fallon would live, for now. Oscar finished what he was saying and sat back down, and the trial began. One if the men was taken to the witness stand, and he clearly stated he did indeed work for a truck company. Although that he was currently at a truck stop miles away at the time. This was what made Natara snap. "<em>That's a lie!<em>" she yelled.  
>"<em>Natara<em>, sit back down" Oscar whispered. Natara hadn't even realized she was standing.  
>"Agent Williams, may my client continue his story without interruption?" said the man's lawyer impatiently.<br>"No, because he's lying!" she knew she was over-reacting, that these wasn't rational words coming from her mouth. That she didn't know it was him, she never saw who was in the truck. But her rage was past the point of being rational "You nearly killed him! It's your fault if he dies!". Silence followed as the room absorbed her words, and the judge, rather flustered, said "We'll be taking a short recess". Sudden conversation broke out, but Natara immediately jumped up. She knew it wasn't allowed, but wanted a 'privet word' with the Defense. "Natara! You can't do that!" she Oscar, seeing where she was heading. He grabbed her arm to stop her.  
>"Let go Oscar!" she said, trying to pull away without making a scene. But he began to drag her out of the courtroom, so she could get rid of her anger in a less-public place. "Don't you touch me Oscar Santos! Don't you touch me!" she said, fighting against him. He finally managed to get her outside, where the warm and sunny weather mocked the terrible storm she felt was inside of her. As soon as she got out she stopped fighting, and that was when the tears came. Oscar embraced her, comfortingly rubbing her back and placing his other hand on the back if her head. "I just want him back" she choked "I just want it to be over". <p>

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><p>Mal Fallon got the next morning, walking immediately to the bathroom. He splashed water in his face, washing the sleep from his eyes. He saw himself in the mirror as she dried his face on a towel, and noticed something he hadn't before. Lines on his face, like a patchwork quilt. They were faint, but there. Again the question of 'how badly was I hurt?' came to mind. Was he really that close to death at one point? And if he was, what was he doing here now?<p> 


	13. Chapter 13

_March 14th, Three years ago_

Natara, after getting her cheek patched up, sat and waited in the waiting room. Amy, Kai and Ken were there. Amy cried, Ken held her close like a child would a beloved doll. Kai didn't smile, but kept his head in his hands. Natara would have normally found this odd, someone like Kai finally breaking down. Now she felt nothing, as if her emotions had been sucked out of her. "Ms. Williams?" said a high voice. Natara looked up. A older woman in scrubs was standing before her, gesturing Natara to follow. She did, and tried her hardest to see what was going through the woman's head as the others got up to follow. Her face was utterly unreadable, a stoic mask that hid the innermost workings of her mind from the world. They were lead to a privet hospital room, and she gestured for Natara go enter. "Oh my God" she barely managed to choke out. Mal was hooked up to countless machines. Ones that forced his heart to pump, his lungs to fill with air. This was not the smiling Mal that she knew. His general air of youthfulness was gone, replaced by someone who looked as if they had aged several years. Natara ignored the shocked noises from the others, crossing the room to where Mal lay. She half expected him to sit up, saying this was all a joke. So then she would slap his shoulder and call him a jerk. But he did not. This was reality, and here Mal Fallon clung to life. "He's in a trauma-induced coma" the woman explained grimly "We're unsure of how long he'll be under". Natara let her fingers brush his hand, and hoped he knew she was there. So he had a reason to come back. "It's controversial, but many people think those who are comatose can hear those around them. They often can't understand what their being told, but a warm voice can be better than anything we can do for them. Would you like a moment to speak to him?" she asked. Natara nodded slowly and the woman left. "Hey Mal" she barely whispered "If you can hear me, I want you to know I'll always be here. I promise". The others said things, but were cold and unbelieving. They didn't think Mal could hear them, and already had taken him for worse than dead. After they all left, Natara still held Mal's hand and barely whispered to him "If you can hear me don't you dare stop fighting. You understand me? I'm waiting right here for when you come back. But just in case-" she was cut off then. Her gasp of utter pain making her voice fade. Not any physical pain, but one that nonetheless would leave a deep scar. She composed herself, finishing what she was saying "Just in case you don't come back, you need to know that I love you".

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><p>The next day was very much like the one before, except for the lack yelling. Mal continued to ask questions, mainly on what had happened the last three years. He tried so hard to remember anything Natara said to him while he was in a coma, because she said she was telling him the same things as then. He found now everything he heard was gone, words random, jumbled and forgotten. He hated hearing all the things he had missed, things he would have been there for if it weren't for two people. He dreaded the day that she would leave again, leaving Mal in what was now a strange land. He had lived here for his whole life, but San Francisco had changed. And Mal supposed he had changed too.<p> 


	14. Chapter 14

The days until Natara was going back neared. Nine days faded to eight, and before Mal knew it there was only a week left. He couldn't believe it when he saw it'd been two weeks since he left the hospital. Even more surprised when he got a call asking if he was ready to return to work. He accepted, and for a moment it seemed as if life was going to return to normal. But not quite. Before, he knew he had loved Natara. He knew now why she had left, had long since understood why she had to keep moving forward. But there was something there that had changed, and he now didn't look at her in any way other than a long lost friend. It wasn't in any way either of them acted, but he had lost any feeling her had for her. He wished he still had those feeling, they had seemed natural. Now all he felt like was the patched-up person that had been sewn together and recreated. Unable to have any human feelings. He knew he cared enough for her at one point to tell her to save herself after the 'accident'. Where had that gone? Maybe after all the confusion he would find it again, but that wouldn't be for a long time. And by that time, Natara would be long gone.

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><p>It was the day before Natara was supposed to leave. They stood on the same shore they had gone to the day Natara arrived, just outside of what was Rip Van Winkles.<br>"The worlds changed so much" Mal said, staring out to the place where it all really began: Alcatraz. He looked down at Natara "Do you still want to go back in time? Make sure none of this happens?".  
>"<em>'We cross our bridges when we come to them and burn them behind us, with nothing to show for our progress except a memory of the smell of smoke, and a presumption that once our eyes watered'<em>. Tom Stoppard said that" she said "and it's one of my favorite quotes".  
>"I don't want to know what Tom Stoppard says, I want to know what Natara Williams says" said Mal.<br>She smiled, taking his hand in hers. For some reason this sparked something, a connection. A memory. 'Just in case you don't come back, you need to know that I love you'. Natara didn't say this now, but must have said it at some point. Because he heard it. And with that came other memories, why he loved Natara Williams. It was because he trusted her with his life. Because they were always there for each other, because that's what they did: they protected each other. He loved the way she laughed, the way she smiled. The way she always knew what you were thinking, and would always be there when you needed them the most if she could. All these things added up to one person, and this person was Natara. And Natara made mistakes, just like him. Just like any other person. But she truly hated herself after going back and leaving Mal, and needed to know he understood. That it was best that she left for the time being, for you had to move forward to survive. That things could go back, and they could still cross their bridges.  
>"By the way, I love you too". For a second she seemed not to remember what he was taking about, then she smiled. Mal pulled her close, his arms around her. "You never answered me. Would you still go back and change things?".<br>She didn't answer right away, and seemed to ponder for a moment.  
>"And risk this never happening? No, the past makes us who we are. And right now, I'm someone who's always going to be here". For a second Mal seemed confused by her words, unsure of what she was saying. "I resigned today Mal. The last three years have taught me something. We only have one life, and there's no time to look back at what was, or what could have been. The only way is to move forward".<p>

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><p><strong>So, I may write an epilogue at some point. I also am starting <em>'Dear Anonymous' <em>****now, and hope to post it in the near future. **


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